EXHIBITION COSTS
by Mithila Gupta
Celluloid is being replaced by digital for one good reason, and that’s money.
According to Joel Hedrick from the “Motion picture distributors association of Australia,” the running cost of digital cinema will be much smaller in the long run compared to that of celluloid.
Long term cost cuts will include the transportation of film product. A film print weighs 25 kg, a tape or DVD, about 500 g, satellite signals and downloads weigh nothing, and thus will cost little.
Cinemas will cut down on storage costs and conservation costs with the reliability of digital prints that will not degrade with time. Duplicating material will become cheaper and easier, so successful films can be screened in multiple theatres within the same cinema. #8
Cinemas will also be able to maximise advertising revenue, by bringing in smaller advertisers who can not currently afford the costs of film production. #9
However a fear among private cinemas in Australia is that they will not have the money to install the new digital projectors. At the moment they cost anywhere between 300 to 500 thousand Australian dollars. #2
3 cinemas in Australia are fitted with the digital projectors. The larger cinema chains are not a part of the changes just as yet. But there are another 1500 Aussie cinema screens apart from the major chains, and if they all choose to go with the digital revolution, it will collectively end up costing them 6 million dollars. Keeping in mind that the box office takings were down by 14% last year, this doesn’t look so attractive- not yet anyway. #2
Projectionists Australia-wide are fearing the loss of their jobs, Denis Parkes, a cinema owner in Merimbula NSW mourns this possible loss, stating: “projecting is a craft- getting the film in frame, in focus- it’s all a part of the magic of cinema and it becomes a passion. Digital projection will steal all of that.” #10
In this manner, the digital revolution in cinema will create winners and losers, just as the digital changes have done in the music and television industries. #2
In the long run, theatres and studios stand to save millions, #9 but as the saying goes, you have to spend money to make money.
Conclusively, although digital distribution doesn’t necessarily provide better quality, the fact that it can deliver images at a comparable quality to film, at a cheaper rate in the long run- has been enough to ensure that digitasation in theatres will spread. #9 According to Joel Hedrick, there has been discussion in the industry of a complete transference with in the next ten years. #4
It is most important for you to keep in mind that Digital projection works best with digital source material. #9 Thus developments in this area will direct the production industry down the digital track also.